Texas standout enjoys Louisville visit

Mike Hughes

04/16/2007

Steve Kragthorpe hopes to tap into the talent pool of Texas' top high school football program. That's why Louisville is on the verge of offering Jake Jackson, a talented 6-5, 290-pound offensive lineman from defending Texas 5A champion Southlake Carroll.

Steve Kragthorpe hopes to tap into the talent pool of Texas' top high school football program. That's why Louisville is on the verge of offering Jake Jackson, a talented 6-5, 290-pound offensive lineman from defending Texas 5A champion Southlake Carroll.

Jackson, who also holds an offer from Baylor, made an unofficial visit to Louisville last weekend for the Cardinals "Junior Day," along with more than 100 other high school prospects. Jackson watched Louisville scrimmage and also had a chance to meet the Louisville coaches.

"It was good," Jackson said. "I talked with some of the coaches last week and they said they are going to offer me a scholarship so I decided to go up there and check things out."

Jackson said he liked what he saw during his weekend trip to Louisville.

"I'm really excited about Louisville," said Jackson. "They are a very strong, national level program.

"I was really impressed with the coaching staff. It's one of the best coaching staffs I've met. Coach Nelson is great and Coach (Tony) Alford is really nice. And Coach Kragthorpe is a very good speaker and seems like a good family guy."

Though he lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Jackson has strong ties to Louisville.

"I have some grandparents and aunts that live in Louisville and they are all excited and putting pressure on me to come up there for college," Jackson said.

As for his recruitment, Jackson has a solid plan laid out. After talking things over with his parents in January, the Southlake Carroll star decided he'd like to end his recruitment before the start of his senior season. Now with an offer on the table from Baylor, and one on the way from Louisville, it seems likely Jackson will make a decision sometime this summer.

"I'd like to commit before next season and with these two offers that's a possibility," Jackson said. "At the earliest would probably be toward the end of June after I go to some camps."

The Bears and Cardinals are clearly in the lead for Jackson.

"Baylor and Louisville are my top two," Jackson said. "I also like Duke and SMU."

Two weeks ago, Jackson visited Baylor. With a trip to Louisville under his belt, Jackson now has a basis to compare his two leaders.

"They were both very similar," Jackson said. "Both Louisville and Baylor have great coaching staffs and facilities. Louisville really speaks for itself and Baylor has a good business school and academics."

While Baylor is just a hour or so away from his home, Jackson said Louisville's greater distance from the Lone Star state won't factor heavily into his decision.

"Distance isn't too big of a factor for me," Jackson said. "There is direct flights from Dallas to Louisville everyday."